Slip Slidin' Away (Paul Simon)

Sossusvlei, 2nd of April 2024 - We get up early and drive to Sesriem. The Namib Naukluft National Park opens at 6:45 a.m. and we want to see Sossusvlei without sunburn. The desert is bone dry and hot, and climbing the dunes in the morning is easier. We queue to enter, eating our well-filled breakfast bag from Le Mirage. We make small talk with a German, who is not sure if he will do the last leg of sand road in his 4x4. 'Yesterday they had to tow away two Italians', he says. Once past the rangers, who keep track of the data you fill out at the gate, we drive towards Dune 45 (40 minutes) and Sossusvlei (60 minutes). There is a new tarmac road, almost straight to your destination. The sun comes up, and we follow a procession of camping cars, vans and jeeps. Speed limit is 60km/h, but everyone is doing about 100km/h. Dune 45 rises 150m above the plains, and we start walking to the top of the ridge. The sand under our feet is 5-million-year-old and is not comparable to any sand I have seen before in my life. It is a major experience. On the way up, we rub shoulders with people coming down, slip-sliding away. In 1977 Paul Simon sang : ‘You know the nearer your destination. The more you're slip slidin' away’

Karin ready for Dune 45

Jeroen ready for the next ridge

Gwen, sand and shadow



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